


Variations on a Space Station

by WannabeCreativeAuthor



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: F/F, Genderswap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-10-27 08:39:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17763485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WannabeCreativeAuthor/pseuds/WannabeCreativeAuthor
Summary: In this universe Julian and Garak are women, everyone else stays the same.We'll follow the two from their first meeting to something... more





	1. Chapter 1

There was a lot to do, even after weeks of setting up on DS9. So much in fact, that Julia spent her lunch break pouring over an array of padds she had brought with her from the infirmary. 

She could've just stayed and had her sandwich and Tarkalean tea there, but a change of scenery was in order, she felt. Seeing only medical devices for hours on end couldn't be all that healthy. There was surely a joke in that statement somewhere, but she was too busy to think of one. 

If she absolutely had to read medical files during her lunch, at least she wanted to feel part of station life, not like a hermit shut off in her office. 

The noises and murmurs of the Replimat made for a soothing background and soon she was engrossed in her reading. Until she became aware of a figure close behind her, that was. 

They brushed right behind her chair and then appeared on Julia's left, smiling down at her. 

"It's Doctor Bashir, isn't it?", the woman asked. 

She looked middle-aged, as far as Julia could guess, Cardassians were hard to pinpoint. Her dark green dress almost reached her ankles and had some accent-stripes in a lighter shade. On top of it she wore a loose vest in maroon with a darker pattern. The grey face was rounded, different from all the Cardassians Julia had seen so far. They'd been all angles and sharp edges. 

She looked... softer, all over, even though she also had the typical scaled facial ridges. Her black hair was done up in an elaborate sort of knot which must've taken her ages. 

Intelligent blue eyes scanned Julia from above. 

Before she could say anything, the woman continued. 

"Of course it is. May I introduce myself?" 

Julia looked up into the dazzling smile and was suddenly lost for words, which according to her reputation of never shutting up, was seldom the case. 

"Uh...yes.", she said, probably gaping like an idiot. "Yes, of course." 

"My name is Garak.", her smile was unbroken, "A Cardassian by birth, obviously. The only one of us left on this station, as a matter of fact. So I do appreciate making new friends whenever I can.", she sank down on the second chair opposite Julia elegantly, "You are new to the station I believe." 

Her voice was smooth and kind of deep, someone who could make even stock listings sound interesting. 

"I am, yes.", Julia said stupidly, still overwhelmed by this presence. 

In an attempt to come over as less awkward, she folded her hands in front of her, though the table decoration kind of ruined the move. Why did this stupid flower have such stupidly long leaves? 

"Though... though I understand you've been here quite a while.", she prattled on. 

"Ah. You know of me then.", Garak seemed quite happy about it, her smile intensified and her eyes began to sparkle. 

Julia had to fight the urge to just stare at her, so she pried her eyes away and instead asked "Would you care for some of this Tarkalean tea? It's very good." 

"What a thoughtful young woman. How nice that we've met." 

Frantically Julia looked out for a waiter from which she could order some more tea, but there wasn't one. This was the Replimat. Not a restaurant. Why was there never a black hole to swallow her up when she needed one. 

"You know...", she said, hoping Garak hadn't noticed, "some people say that you remained on DS9 as the eyes and ears of your fellow Cardassians." 

To tell the truth it was more than some people, nearly everyone thought Garak was a little shady. Why again had she brought that up? Smooth Julia, really great. 

"You don't say.", Garak showed a gross exaggeration of a surprised face, "Doctor, you're not intimating that I'm some sort of spy, aren't you?", her smile had a wicked touch now. 

Julia shook her head vigorously. "I wouldn't know, ma'am." 

"Ah. An open mind, the essence of intellect.", Garak commented, but Julia didn't feel complimented at all. "As you may also know, I have a clothing shop nearby, so if you should require any apparel or simply wish, as I do, for a bit of enjoyable company now and then, I'm at your disposal, Doctor." 

"You're very kind, Miss Garak.", Julia had finally found the compartment of her brain that held onto her manners. Enhanced brain sadly didn't automatically mean socially savvy brain. 

"Oh, it's just Garak, plain, simple..." 

"Garak.", they both said in unison and Julia felt vaguely ridiculous. 

"Now, good day to you, Doctor.", Garak rose from her chair in one elegant move. 

Julia was just in the process of exhaling deeply after this ordeal of awkwardness, when she felt two slim grey hands slip onto her shoulders from behind. 

"I'm so glad to have made such an interesting new friend today.", Garak's voice had dropped even lower. She let her hands linger for a moment before she made her exit. 

Julia was too puzzled to say anything, she just stared at the swishing skirt, slowly disappearing between the tables. 

She breathed. Work could wait, she needed to tell somebody about this. Now. 

And with that she sprang up from her chair and almost ran towards the next turbolift.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided to continue :)  
> This is going to be a series of little vignettes from the Garak-episodes, maybe some other episodes as well, and of course the stuff I'm making up^^ Just enjoy the ride :D  
> I'll update the summary and rating accordingly.  
> Oh and the episode in this chapter is "Cardassians" from season 2

"Actually, something good did come out of this, Garak." 

Julia was just in the process of going over the tailor's hand with a dermal regenerator where she had been bitten by a Cardassian boy. 

"Oh?", Garak asked curiosly. 

"If it hadn't happened, we'd never have discovered Rugal's situation." 

Rugal was the name of the young Cardassian, who had been left on Bajor as an orphan after the occupation had ended. He was now living with a Bajoran family. 

"And a bite on the hand is certainly worth saving a boy's life, wouldn't you say?", Julia continued. 

"I suppose it depends on whose hand.", Garak commented, then added "Just joking, Doctor." 

"Perhaps it might even help Gul Dukat in his efforts to resolve the entire war orphan predicament.", Julia mused while mindlessly entering something into the computer console. 

"I beg your pardon?" 

At this Julia looked up. 

"Gul Dukat.", she said, "He called Commander Sisko right after this happened. Apparently, he was quite concerned with your well-being. You never mentioned you were friends." 

Julia found the thought of Garak, the witty tailor, and the rather smarmy Gul Dukat getting along more than a little peculiar, but then again she knew almost nothing about Garak. 

At her remark, Garak broke out into a dark kind of laughter that sent a cold shiver down the Doctor's spine. 

"You said Dukat is doing something about war orphans?" 

"He wants to bring them all home from Bajor.", Julia nodded. 

"Does he?", Garak furrowed her eyeridges, looking thoughtful. 

"Am I missing something?", the Doctor asked, feeling quite confused. 

"Tell me, Doctor... is there a single trait you would ascribe to me and my fellow Cardassians?", Garak's voice was calm, sitting very straight with her hands neatly folded in her lap, "Would it not be our attention to detail? Do you think we simply forgot about those poor little orphans when we left Bajor?", she had now gotten up, walking closer to Julia. 

"Do you think they simply slipped from our minds?", she continued, "And who would you guess was in charge of the Cardassian withdrawal from Bajor?" 

Julia's heart was beating fast and her thoughts were racing, not just because of this new information but also because Garak was standing so close to her and she could feel those blue eyes piercing through her skin. 

\--- 

That night, Julia fell asleep easily, it had been a long day. She just wished she could've heard what Commander Sisko discussed with Garak. But she hadn't been invited to attend the meeting, even though she had been the one to tell Sisko about Garak's suspicions regarding Dukat. 

In the middle of the night, she woke up with a start. She had just enough time to realize that the noise which had roused her had been the door to her quarters. 

Shortly after, she saw a shadow enter her bedroom. 

"Come, Doctor, get dressed.", Garak stepped into the light, smiling dangerously, "We need to be going." 

Julia shook her head to force her brain to awaken fully. "Going? Going where?" 

"To Bajor.", came the enigmatic response. 

She had no choice but to get out of bed and do as she was told. At least not if she wanted to find out what this was all about. 

Thankfully this night Julia had chosen one of her nicer pajamas instead of a ratty old T-shirt. She was still embarrassed about the state of her hair though, it looked like a bird's nest. 

In her head she heard her mother's voice reprimanding her for not braiding it in the night. Maybe she'd had a point. 

Julia put on her uniform as quickly as she could, and then gathered her hair in her signature messy bun. All of her questions were deflected by Garak, who waited in the living room while she got dressed. 

So when she stood in front of Commander Sisko, having ripped him from his well-earned sleep, asking for access to a runabout, she had no real explanation other than "Garak wants to go to Bajor." 

Lucky for her, just when Sisko looked ready to explode in her face, a call from Ops came, telling him Gul Dukat wanted a word. 

Julia stayed in the open door and overheard what was said. 

Apparently the boy's real father had been found. Pa'Dar, quite an important person in the Cardassian world, and he was on his way to the station to reclaim his son. 

"It can't be just a coincidence, sir.", Julia blurted out once the transmission ended, "Garak must have heard about Pa'Dar before she woke me up. What could she be looking for on Bajor?" 

"There's only one way to find out.", Sisko said wearily. 

Shortly after, Julia was sitting next to Garak on a runabout, headed for Bajor. 

"So can you _now_ tell me where exactly on Bajor we're going?", she broke the silence. 

"The Tozhat Resettlement Center.", Garak answered cryptically. 

"All right. And why?" 

"You'll find out soon enough." 

"Great.", Julia grumbled. 

"Oh come now, Doctor", Garak laughed, "all in good time." 

Julia sighed. "Fine." 

There was a short silence before Garak picked up the conversation again. 

"Say, have you ever played kotra, Doctor?" 

"I can't say I have, no.", Julia said. 

"It's a Cardassian boardgame", Garak explained, "A game of strategy and planning, it can be quite challenging when played against the right person. I think you might appreciate it. Sadly I didn't think to pack it, we would have just the right amount of time until we arrive on Bajor. Oh well.", she shrugged. 

Had this been a veiled compliment on Julia's intellect, or a subtle challenge that she would never be able to win against Garak? 

"It sounds interesting.", she said neutrally. 

"I could teach you sometime.", those blue eyes twinkled at her, "Maybe over lunch?" 

Julia felt heat rising to her face. "That would be nice.", she managed to say without sounding too awkward. 

What had she just agreed to? Was 'playing kotra' some kind of Cardassian code? A euphemism? 

Maybe she should ask Quark when they returned. No, he wasn't exactly a reliable source, but she also couldn't ask Kira without her going off on a rant about Cardassians and the occupation. 

She'd just have to figure it out for herself. Probably she was overthinking this anyway, playing kotra over lunch likely just meant exactly that. Could be nice, she liked hearing Garak talk, and they had met up for lunch a few times before. 

The tailor had focused her attention on the approaching planet getting bigger on the viewscreen. She looked serene, a mysterious smile playing on her lips, promising hidden depths behind the unassuming facade. 

Could be _very_ nice.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this. I'd like to, but we'll see, so I'm keeping this as an unfinished story. If I decide that I'm not going to write any more I'll mark it as complete.


End file.
